Effective tax rates on labour rebounded in 2021 as the global economy recovered and many countries began withdrawing or scaling back measures implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new OECD report. Taxing Wages 2022 shows that rising household incomes in 2021 coupled with the reversal of many tax and benefit policies linked to the pandemic drove increases in effective taxes on wages across the OECD. This marks a turn-around from 2020, when the pandemic drove significant...

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It’s FTC 101. Companies can’t tell consumers they will use their personal information for one purpose and then use it for another. But according to the FTC, that’s the kind of digital bait-and-switch Twitter pulled on unsuspecting consumers. Twitter asked users for personal information for the express purpose of securing their accounts, but then also used it to serve targeted ads for Twitter’s financial benefit. It wasn’t Twitter’s first alleged violation of the FTC Act, but this one will...

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Today, the Commission is presenting the State of Schengen Report 2022. This is the first time the Commission is presenting such report, following last year's Schengen Strategy. This report  is part of the Commission's initiative to reinforce the Schengen governance through a yearly reporting exercise presenting the state of Schengen, identifying priorities for the year ahead and monitoring progress made at the end of a given year. The State of Schengen report will serve as basis for discussions of...

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Economists miscalculated the disruptions of the global financial crisis and the pandemic—and need to build better models Does globalization enhance resilience? Or does it have no effect? Or the opposite effect? For the two major economic disruptions so far this century—the global financial crisis starting in 2008 and the COVID-19 pandemic starting in 2020—economists’ answers to those questions were largely wrong. As for the financial crisis, most of them underestimated the risks of financial globalization, and when it came to the...

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Russia has demonstrated that it is an unreliable supplier of energy to Europe through unjustified and unacceptable actions such as cutting off electricity and natural gas to Finland, halting natural gas exports to Poland and Bulgaria, and threatening similar actions against other European nations. The European Commission and the United States condemn Russia's use of energy blackmail and reaffirm our commitment to strengthening Europe's energy security. Across Europe, from the Nordics to the Balkans, efforts are underway to diversify supplies...

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On 23 May, 2022, the Council approved conclusions on developing the Union’s cyber posture. The posture aims to demonstrate the EU’s determination to provide immediate and long-term responses to threat actors seeking to deny the EU a secure and open access to cyberspace and affect its strategic interests, including the security of its partners. Cybersecurity initiatives In the conclusions Council highlights the five functions of the EU in the cyber domain: strengthen resilience and capacities to protect; enhance solidarity and comprehensive...

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What is included in this year's European Semester Spring Package? The 2022 European Semester Spring Package includes: a Communication on the main elements of the European Semester Spring Package; country-specific recommendations (CSRs) for 27 Member States; country reports for 27 Member States; in-depth reviews for 12 Member States a report under Article 126(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU; opinions on the draft budgetary plans of Germany and Portugal; the fourteenth enhanced surveillance report for Greece; post-programme...

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The European Commission's 2022 European Semester Spring Package provides Member States with support and guidance two years on from the first impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and in the midst of Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine. The Spring 2022 Economic Forecast projects the EU economy to continue growing in 2022 and 2023. However, while the EU economy continues to show resilience, Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine has created a new environment, exacerbating pre-existing headwinds to growth, which were previously...

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The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets regulator, has published a study looking at the potential reasons behind the relatively lower ongoing costs, and better performance, of environmental, social and governance (ESG) funds compared to other funds, between April 2019 and September 2021. ESMA recently determined that ESG equity undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS), excluding exchange-traded funds, were cheaper and better performers in 2019 and 2020 compared to non-ESG peers. Understanding the cost and performance dynamics...

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Today, the Commission has set out plans in a Communication for the EU's immediate response to address Ukraine's financing gap, as well as the longer-term reconstruction framework. This Communication follows from the European Council call to address the consequences of the war in Ukraine via a dedicated Europe-led effort. Immediate response and short terms needs Since the Russian aggression started, the EU has significantly stepped up its support, mobilising around €4.1 billion to support Ukraine's overall economic, social and financial resilience...

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